Lloyds apologises

Lloyds Bank has been fined a record £28 million for 'serious failings' in its 'seriously flawed' sales practices. Lloyds says it 'recognises that its oversight of these particular schemes during the period in question was inadequate and apologises to its customers for the impact that they may have had.'

Last month, the bank wrote apologetically to its offshore customers to let them know that it would no longer be able to aid and abet them in their criminal activities. Of course it didn't really say that. What it said was:

HMRC in the UK has announced tax Disclosure Facilities with the governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man ('Crown Dependencies') to provide an opportunity for eligible persons to bring their UK tax affairs up to date in advance of an automatic exchange of information between the governments.

Receiving this letter does not imply that you, specifically, need to take action, or that your tax affairs are not in order. You should consider whether this letter is relevant to you. If you are unsure, you should speak to a professional tax adviser or HMRC.

In other words: we've washed our hands; have you?